Aitamaako tamisskapi Natosi - Before the Sun
Directed by:
Banchi Hanuse
2023
90 minutes
A young Siksika woman, Logan Red Crow, prepares to compete in the Indian Relay, a sport for the brave, where bareback riders vault from horse to horse in short, exhilarating races. Besides skill and sheer grit, she has a loving family, an elite group of horses, and a home on her ancestral lands.
SCREENING
Friday, October 27, 2023 at 4:00 PM
Aitamaako'tamisskapi Natosi Official Trailer
ABOUT THE FILM
Growing up on her grandfather’s ranch, Logan Red Crow has been around horses as long as she can remember. The Siksika teenager was 15 in her first Indian relay and never looked back. As she prepares to make history by joining the men’s competition on the world’s largest stage at the Calgary Stampede, there’s no hiding from the dangers of North America’s original extreme sport. Racing around the track bareback at full speed is one thing, but it's during the change-up, when riders must jump from one horse to another, that the greater risk appears.Â
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As we follow her, we see Red Crow grow as an athlete and a person, alongside her mother, who has always supported her; her brothers, who help her race; her grandparents, who have shaped her worldview; and her father, who taught her how to raise horses. Together, they draw strength from one another as they chart a new path into the future while honoring their past. (Alexander Rogalski, Hot Docs)
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Banchi Hanuse's doc takes us to the golden plains of Blackfoot Territory to the home of Logan Red Crow, a young Siksika woman whose passion is the Indian Relay. A sport for the truly brave, the Relay's bareback riders vault from horse to horse in short, exhilarating races.Â
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Gentle and reflective, yet unshakable in her determination, Logan is a champion in the making. Besides her skill and sheer grit, she has a loving family, an elite group of horses, and a home on her ancestral lands. Those are invaluable, but this rider will need more for victory. As Hanuse follows her through one competition after another, we see courage put to the test, and also get a picture of the other factors involved in the sport-including blind circumstance.Â
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Aitamaako'tamisskapi Natosi: Before the Sun offers the dual pleasures of serenity and suspense: we get leisurely, lyrical immersion in rural life as well as the thrill of rooting for victory. Logan's bond with her horses is palpable, and Hanuse shows us her tender interactions with them contrasted with gripping races. The animals are beautiful in their mute strength, and the director honors them with loving, graceful images. The connections explored here are profound and lasting: those between Father and Daughter, animal and human, family and community, ancestral tradition and contemporary life. Graceful, compelling and uplifting, this is an inspirational gem. It offers, through Logan, her horses, her family and her Nation, a portrait of radiant heroism. (Mike Archibald, IMDb)
Aitamaako tamisskapi Natosi - Before the Sun
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Banchi Hanuse
Banchi Hanuse is Canadian indigenous director, writer, and producer. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in First Nations Studies from the University of British Columbia in Bella Coola. She is an alumna of Werner Herzog’s Roque Film School.
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Banchi Hanuse is the co-founder and station manager of Nuxalk Radio, launched on the summer solstice 2014, inspired during the 2012 Idle No More resistance movement. Their main aim is to promote the Nuxalkmc* language, along with Nuxalk nationhood and stewardship of Nuxalk homelands, and to provide uplifting programming. Her directorial debut, Cry Rock, won several awards following its premiere at National Geographic’s All Roads Film Festival including the Golden Sheaf Award for Best Documentary Short at Yorkton Film Festival. Her short doc Nuxalk Radio (2020) was the winner of the Vancouver International Film Festival Sea to Sky Award. Hanuse began in the film industry as a camera trainee with IATSE Local 669 and then went on to work at the National Film Board of Canada — Pacific Yukon Centre — as a researcher and associate producer.Â
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Before the Sun won Big Sky Award for Best Film About the American West at Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. Â The film also won 5 Leo Awards, Â These celebrate British Columbia film, television, web, and streaming media.
CREDITS
Director
Banchi Hanuse
Writers
Banchi Hanuse
Tanya Maryniak (written by)
Producer
Mike Wavrecan
Executive Producers
Carey Newman
Izzy Pullen
Composers
Jason Burnstick
Nadia Burnstick
Cinematographers
Luke Connor
Ben Giesbrecht
Editor
Tanya Maryniak
Production Manager
Sam Graham
Sound Department
Ariana Brophy,Sound
"Zak Cohen, ADR Recording | Dialogue Editor
Tyler Devon Gillis, Sound Designer
Jayme Langen, Sound Effects Editor
David Parfit, Sound Designer
Brenda Sevilla, Sound
Camera and Electrical Department
Joshua Many, Head Assistant Camera
Anthony Stengel, Additional Cinematography
Calvin Stimson, Assistant Camera
Editorial Department
James Chase, Colorist
Somit Sharma, Assistant Editor